- Amazon
- Read “Structure of World History
Q: Why do gifts occur p. 138 A: There has been a fear of the natural state of Hobbes since the time of the nomadic people.
- When you meet another band, you give them a gift before you fight them.
- creating peace through giving.
- This relationship will not last, because the nomadic population will move on.
- Fear of the natural state, urge to leave the natural state
- Hobbes conceived of an escape from the state of nature in the form of everyone submitting to the One “Leviathan.”
- social compact
- This is based on violence.
- There is a social contract that is not based on violence, which is reciprocity of gifts.
- Kula trade in the Trobriand Islands
- This is a small “world system”
- principle of reciprocity is assumed.
- Give first and be assured that your gift will be returned.
- If attacked, fight back.
- In the long run, belligerent bands became exhausted and disappeared, thus establishing a society based on reciprocal gift-giving.
- The historical fact is that that equilibrium state was not maintained.
- At some point a cycle occurred in which the stronger became stronger, and a single strongman “leviathan” was born
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